ORCHARD PARK – The travesty that is the NFL preseason is now complete. Congratulate yourselves; you made it through another summer of fake football.

The Bills closed their exhibition season out in style, or some iteration of style, with a 27-17 victory over the Detroit Lions in front of a whole lot of empty seats at New Era Field on a Thursday night that had a little bit of an autumn feel to it. Maybe that’s why the crowd was so small. No, that’s not the reason.

It’s really tough to make judgements in the preseason for a variety of reasons, but first and foremost because teams aren’t game-planning for anything. Also, there’s such a mish-mash of players in and out of the game, there’s zero opportunity to establish any rhythm, which makes evaluations tricky. I flat out refuse to pay attention to anything that happens.

So, in that vein, here are some random observations I made Thursday night in the wake of Sean McDermott's first triumph as an NFL head coach.

► Nathan Peterman looked good while playing the entire first quarter. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 81 yards and his two possessions resulted in a Steven Hauschka field goal and a 20-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Williams.

I’ve said this going all the way back to the third day of the draft: I liked the Peterman pick, and he’s not disappointing me. Again, he’s playing with mostly scrubs, against mostly scrubs, but you can tell the kid knows what he’s doing, that he has a good feel for the game, and in a short passing game such as this one under offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, he can have success.

He closed the preseason 43 of 79 for 453 yards with one TD and no picks. If Tyrod Taylor can’t start the opener next week, I wouldn’t bet against Peterman getting the call from McDermott and playing well enough to beat the lowly Jets.

► After the game, I asked McDermott what the situation was with Taylor. Taylor was seen pre-game on the field, though I don't know whether he was on the sideline during the game. All McDermott would say is that the quarterback remains in the concussion protocol, so no further update. My sense in dealing with McDermott is that he's not going to give up too much when it comes to injuries, ala Bill Belichick, among others.

"We'll cross that road when we come to it," McDermott offered regarding who would start against New York if not Taylor.

Earlier in the night, general manager Brandon Beane said in a TV interview that he had spoken to Taylor and Taylor said he felt better and thought he'd be ready for the Jets. McDermott was asked to comment on that nugget of news, but he declined again. Funny, but I, nor anyone else, inquired about T.J. Yates.

► It was encouraging that Cordy Glenn was able to start at left tackle. He’s missed almost everything the Bills have done since the end of 2016 due to a lingering foot injury, and until the last few days, there was real concern that he wouldn’t be ready to start the season.

We had been hearing that since he received an injection in his foot a couple weeks ago that he was starting to come around, and the fact that he played the first two possessions is an indication that he’ll be good to go against the Jets. Obviously, the Bills need him at full strength because there’s not much depth at tackle. Of course, I could say that for just about every position on this team.

► One player I’d like to see make the team is wide receiver Brandon Reilly. He’s an undrafted free agent from Nebraska, which just furthers his underdog story. He was the equivalent of an undrafted free agent in college, too, a walk-on for the Cornhuskers who finished his career with 70 catches for 1,275 yards.

For the first 13 years of his life, Reilly thought his future was in hockey, and as an eighth-grader, he was reportedly the seventh-rated prospect in the nation. However, rather than leave home to play, he opted to give up the game so he could attend his local high school like a regular kid and play other sports, and football proved to be his best.

Reilly caught 11 passes for 139 yards and a TD in the preseason, and given this team’s unimpressive receiving corps, he stands as good a chance as anyone else to stick. Hey, maybe he’ll turn out to be the next Chris Hogan.

► I have to believe Joe Banyard is going to make the team as the third running back behind LeSean McCoy and Jonathan Williams. Banyard separated himself from the rest of the bottom of the depth chart with a 68-yard night and he finished the preseason with 33 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown. He broke a 40-yard run on the first possession of the third quarter and capped the drive with a short touchdown plunge.

However, Taiwan Jones did not go quietly. He finally got a chance to play in the fourth quarter and he broke a 39-yard run which helped him gain 48 yards. Ultimately, it will come down to which player the coaching staff believes is more valuable on special teams.

For the night, the Bills piled up 205 yards rushing as Williams had 53, and Jordan Johnson chipped in 35 plus a touchdown, a nice moment for the University at Buffalo product.

► Speaking of Williams, I think he’s going to be fine as the primary backup to McCoy. He has a tough act to follow in Karlos Williams (2015) and Mike Gillislee (2016), but Williams has the talent, and I think he’s gained some confidence this summer. Given McCoy’s age, and how much the Bills are going to run, Williams needs to produce.

► Props to Keith Wenning for coming to Buffalo and bailing the Bills out of a difficult quarterback situation. He had only three days to learn enough plays to be semi-functional, and while, as expected, it was a struggle - 5 of 15 for 41 yards - the Bills didn’t have to expose Peterman to injury risk after the first quarter.